Cia's Journal 2

It began to snow as we headed to town. We brought a wagon with us and Raine let Isabella come along. This country is very beautiful and reminds me of the country near my old home. I wish I could visit Mother and Hern back home. I haven't gotten a letter in a while, I was hoping to find one waiting in the city for me.
We had the phlactery identified at the wizard's guild, and it contains the soul of a very powerful litch. After much debate, we concluded it would be safest in the possession of the lord of this country. We spent a night at his house after discussing a great deal with him.
That night I had a disturbing dream. I saw myself on an alter, my youngest brother Oin standing above me. He thanked me for the power I had given him and then sank a dagger into my chest. I awoke with a scream, then screamed again as a huge skeleton swathed in blue flames towered over me. I rolled off the bed, barely avoiding its first blow. The second blow caught me in my chest, tearing my gown and knocking me into the bed, even though I was now desperately clutching my shield. My mind suddenly unclouded and I was filled with His Holy Light. Brandishing the necklace of Pelor I never remove, I sent the skeleton running in fear just as Alandry opened the door. Apparently my screams had awoken the whole house. It went past before he could really react and I chased after it, despite Raine's attempts at checking my wounds. The house guards finished it off, and we set to the task of trying to figure out where it came from. I forced the nagging suspicions out of my head and inspected the bones. Only a high level necromancer or priest could have raised such a monstrosity, and there are rumors of a spell that can transport undead. We returned to our rooms, now two to a room. I don't mind sharing a room with Raine, I do mind Alandry's attempts at healing my wounds by laying his hands on me a little too long. I can cure myself just fine. Horrid new thoughts and old memories haunted my mind, and I got very little sleep after that.
The next morning I removed the remains of my gown to find a black tattoo scrawled on my chest. The words Demon Mark rang through my head as my heart jumped beneath it. I scrawled a copy of it and showed it to my companions. We agreed it was the mark of a demon lord. I tried to force my thoughts away and enjoy a shopping trip with Alandry as the two arcanists tried their hand at undercover work. Magically disguised as orcs, they tried to infiltrate the darker side of the city, but dug up more trouble than they wanted. Apparently they were jumped by an apparent assassin who eventually escaped them. We hired new workers and guards and headed back to the tower that day.
It started to snow again just as we left, and soon we were walking through more than a foot of snow. Thank goodness for our horses. We spotted 6 large wolves in the distance. Ready for the fight, we tied the horses and locked the wagon, but the wolves didn't approach. They just sat and watched us. Alandry shot an arrow at their feet, but still they sat. Eventually, the male arcanist's patience wore out and he shot a spell at them, and they charged. Apparently these were wargs. We managed to take down four, the other two ran. Everyone in the wagon had been put to sleep and Isabella was missing. Alandry rode after the trail and I followed in my usual fashion to back him up.
The snow held the tracks so it was easy to let the horses run. Eventually we saw a figure stopped along the path. When I got fairly close I dismounted my horse, knowing it was no good in combat. Before I could close the distance as Alandry had, I was jumped by the remaining two wargs. They managed to take down my horse but I dropped one before the other knocked me to the ground. I managed to fight well despite my position and slayed the foul beast. I used one of my last spells to heal my horse and reached Alandry just as he dropped the assailant. It turned out later he was the mage assassin from the city. There were multiple tracks in the snow, but the paladin discerned which had the heaviest burden and decided to follow it. I ran after and our companions weren't far behind.
We came upon a cabin with the tracks leading to the barn, then a set of footprints to the cabin. I circled around while Alandry ruthlessly searched the cabin. A few times I was worried about the sounds coming from the cabin but he was just smashing everything in his way. I went to the barn to find a horse and several supplies. I searched the stables then loaded up the horse with all I found. I cast a spell to find anything magical in the barn and noticed what is called a rope trick right above my head. I yelled out to my companions and ran from the barn.
Apparently a person can only stay in a rope trick for so long before it ends. We waited him out for a few hours and he surrendered without a fight. He told us very little useful information. They had been paid to kidnap Isabella and bring her back to the city. Other than that the details were sketchy at best. They had also been told to deliver a rock to us. There was a faint spell cast on it. Raine decided to be brave and picked up the rock. My brother's booming voice echoed in my ears twice within one day.
"Thank you, dear sister, for this sacrifice."
The mage offered no more information, despite the fact that now he was involved in murder and would surely hang for it in the city. We tied him up with his still unconscious friend. My companions had apparently tried to bandage the mage and stripped him of all possessions while Alandry and I had followed the tracks. So we'll rest for now and eventually head back to the city, putting these criminals to justice and hopefully find Isabella before my brother completes his dark intentions.
To my knowledge, my brother has been spending the last 10 years in the church's care. I never heard he'd been released or escaped. This troubles me greatly and I have already prepared a letter to the church regarding this matter. If nothing else they should be informed and perhaps they will even send help. I am greatly disturbed by the possibility that my brother has returned to demons, even moreso that perhaps he has done so willingly. I can only hope his mind has been so destroyed that he is merely in their possession, and he has meant none of it. I wish to be his savior in all of this. I do not blame or fault him one ounce in the deaths of my father and Dal. I still love him and he is my family no matter what happens. My acceptance will never waiver, even if he is in fact in full control of himself. I deeply regret involving Raine and Isabella in this and I pray for Pelor's protecting eyes to watch over her. I will put an end to my brother's demonic activities permanently. This I vow with all my soul, by Pelor's Light.

Cia's Journal 1

I've been here at my new post a few weeks now. I spent a lot of time at Nesisa's grave. I wish I could have seen who she became. Her comrades speak well of her. The paladin speaks a little more of her than I find comfortable, and his attentions have turned to me. His letcherous advances are merely another test for me to overcome.
I am here with an asamar paladin, two arcanists, a mildly drunken human paladin, and a fair ammount of hired guards, workers, and their families. The female arcanist, Raine, brought her adoptive daughter, Issabella, with her. It's quite cosy in the tower. I have been offering my religious services to the people here, despite the snickering paladins, of whose faithfull devotions I have recently been questioning.
Seeing a goblin caravan pass through our area does not give me hope that this will be an easy mission. On our scouting mission to a nearby quarry, we stumbled upon a strange sight. From far away we saw a large obilisque surounded by white ground. When we reached it, it was a large amythest surrounded by the bones of two armies of orcs and humans. One skeleton was against the stone, clutching a sword jammed into the stone. We burried as many bodies as we could, but our brave Paladin Alandry, overcome with curiosity, pulled the sword from the stone. It exploded and in its place stood a bearded devil. After a narrow victory, we left the area with a new sword.
We decided to scout out the area around the quarry while our hired workers mined. After 6 days we headed back. We picked up our pace at the sound of screams. Two trolls were bashing their way through our workers. We took down the first but the second brought down Alandry. I tried to heal him but failed, taking a lot of damage from the brute and eventually I was knocked down as well. When I awoke, 2 guards and 3 workers had been slain. We gathered things up and headed back to the tower. Apparently, bug bears had been wandering the area, and my companions hunted them all down. Nessisa had been killed fighting the last group. the bug bears had been keeping lager things away, like the trolls.
On a scouting mission, we saw three trolls as an ogre walked up to them. He dropped them all with one swing. He bore Hextor's mark. after he left, we went to make sure the trolls were actually dead, but of course once we were too close they stood back up. Thankfully it was a much easier fight to finish. We later determined the ogre was Azarak, a champion of Hextor, known for his brute strength and legendary performance on the battlefields. The group has unanimously decided we will leave him till we might be more of a match for him.
After we returned to the tower, we informed the familes of the dead workers and had a proper day of mourning for the fallen. My paladin comrades help me with the funeral proceedings. Later, Issabella brought Raine a strange crystal she'd found in the basement. It's covered in strange arcane and necromantic markings that none of us recognized. With intense study, it is most likely a phlactery possibly containing the soul of a very powerfull mage. We have all agreed to take a trip back to the city to hopefully have it dealt with.

Cia Muen

Despite my best efforts at having a life, Lo and behold I have found time to update this. I supose I'll start with the first pic I did (and it's honetsly the first thing i've done in a looooooooong time so yes it's lame and I realize that, still very unhappy with it but you learn to let things go...sometimes) so here it is:

Cia Muen is a 4th level cleric of pelor. She carries a +1 morningstar, a cold iron morning star, and a light crossbow. Here's her back story:

Once upon a time I was the daughter of a very rich merchant. We lived in a big house in the rich center of town. My friends called it a mansion, but I don’t remember much about it. I had two older brothers, Dal and Hern, and a younger brother named Oin. My parents loved us very much and we got away with a lot. So I was spoiled, so what? All that changed in the blink of an eye.

One night I awoke to the sounds of a struggle coming from my father’s study. He would often wait until we were asleep to work and end up falling asleep in his study. I ran from my room to find my older brothers wrestling with Oin. Dal yelled at me to get the priest. I flew blindly through the streets in my nightgown to the church. The priest and his aids rushed back to the house with me. When we came upstairs, my mother was crouched in the hall sobbing. When she saw me she pulled me to her. I only heard her attempts at soothing me until I saw the slumped forms of my father and Dal. Then I heard nothing.

It had taken all night and several reinforcements from the church to finally subdue Oin. He had been possessed by a demon intent on killing my father. Its apparent goal was destroying the trade routes he had established and controlled. They took him to the church and kept him there under special care. He had been aware of everything the demon had done and it had destroyed his mind. He had killed my father before Dal and Hern could stop him. Dal had died from his injuries in the fight. No one ever told me more than that. Hern took over Father’s business and took care of Mom and the cost of Oin’s care. As soon as my tears dried I went to the church and vowed to hunt down demons.

Of course I was still too young and was sent away for training. I took to the hard work and proved skilled in battle and spellcasting. I grew taller than most of my classmates and that made me only work harder to earn the respect I deserved. My spoiled edge wore away the more I trained. A few years in I met Nesisa. She was much younger than me and not very strong at all. She was picked on as well and I just naturally took to her. I showed her how to overcome her weaknesses, especially in combat. Instead of the usual mace, I introduced her to the morningstar, light enough for her to use and carry regularly. We grew to be great friends and she told me how she had came to be here, and how much she missed her family, especially her brother Theander. I told her if she worked hard maybe she could be sent wherever he had been sent, but she didn’t know where that would be. I told her how much I missed my mom and Hern. Having each other to talk to helped a lot through all the training.

Eventually the day came when my training was finished. I was sent to travel the land and offer help to the people and spread the world of Pelor. Given my distaste for demons, I was sent to known areas of demon infestation. Before I left, Nesisa and I swore to keep in touch, and as the days passed I would always count on finding her letters waiting for me wherever I went. I was sent on many missions that required all of my skills and was rewarded handsomely by the locals, which went as donations to the church, which in turn kept me well fed and equipped. I was given a special morningstar of cold iron for facing demons and I made very good use of it.

One day Nesisa wrote me to say she’d finished training and had been given her first assignment. We managed to keep in touch right up until she had been sent to a rather remote location. She said she’d met a group of mercenaries who’d been hired to keep watch over a tower and re-establish the area as a trade route. I was very happy for her, but one month her letters stopped finding me. I took an assignment near where she’d been sent, and ended up in the very town she’d left from. There was no church of Pelor there, so I only planned on staying a day before heading out to find her. I checked the mail and saw a notice heading back to our main church, saying she’d been killed. I found her companions and they showed me her grave, so I preformed the full rights all clerics of Pelor deserve. I will miss her very much, and it is my duty to the church to take over in her place. I will establish a church of Pelor here with the help of my new paladin companion and aid the creation of a new town.

Side notes...

This blog is a record of my RPG characters that I'm currently playing. I've only got two characters on the go right now but who knows what'll happen. I'll try to post pics of them if and when i do them, too.